The Quarterback: An added scene
by OursIsTheFury94
Summary: Puck makes a stop before heading to the Air Force.


Noah Puckerman knocked on the apartment door and waited to see if anyone was in. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he shoved his hands into his jean pockets, and tried to work out what he would say should the door in front of him open.

He was due to report for basic training in four days time, and he knew that he wouldn't have been able to head off to the Air Force without making this stop. He had considered heading to Rachel's apartment first, but in all honesty, he wasn't sure if he could face Kurt and Santana after what they had had to say about him and their accusations that he had taken Finn's letterman jacket from Santana. He had text Rachel though, just to make sure she knew that he hadn't taken it, and that he was sorry for his abrupt departure, as well as his reasons for leaving so suddenly. Puck had her reply saved on his phone, and the thought of it brought a smile to his face, like it had every other time he thought about it. It wasn't long winded, and Puck just appreciated that she had taken the time to reply to him when he knew how much she was hurting. Rachel had stated that she believed he hadn't taken Finn's jacket, and that she was proud of what he was going to be doing with his life, as would Finn. She had wished him well, and told him not to be a stranger in New York. Puck didn't intend to be, but thought that it might be a bit soon to visit his friend; all three roommates would still be hurting and he didn't want to give anyone an excuse to have a go at him again, especially with Rachel around.

Puck snapped out of his thoughts as the handle to the door in front of him turned, and the door opened.

"Noah!" Shelby Corcoran exclaimed, the shock evident on her face.

"Hi Shelby," Puck replied, running a hand nervously over his newly shaven head. "Sorry I didn't tell you I was planning on visiting, I've just had other things on my mind lately."

The older woman's expressions softened as she realised that Noah Puckerman _was_ actually standing in the hallway of her apartment block. "No need to apologise Noah, come on in."

Puck strode inside, taking in Shelby's apartment decorations. It was simple but warm, a great little home for Beth to grow up in.

"Beth's not here right now Noah," Shelby explained as she gathered up clothes that had been thrown onto the sofa. "I've just got back from a doctor's appointment, and I didn't want Beth to come with me. The sitter should be dropping her back here in around a half an hour."

"Nothing serious I hope?" Puck asked as Shelby continued to rush around her apartment gathering up odd clothes and toys.

"No, nothing serious," the dark haired woman replied. "You're more than welcome to hang around until Beth comes back though," she continued with a smile.

Puck grinned back at her. "That would be amazing Shelby. I know turning up at your door was inconsiderate but I've not been all there lately."

Shelby nodded as she gestured for the younger man to take a seat on her couch. "How are you doing, Noah?" she asked seriously, concern obvious on her face.

"I've been better," was all he could reply wearily. "I still can't believe I won't ever see him again, you know? He was a brother to me." Puck wasn't sure why he was so open about his feelings to Shelby, but it felt good to talk instead of keeping his emotions bottled up inside.

"Rachel turned up here when she got the call," Shelby said quietly. "She wasn't sure if she could face going back to Lima, but she wanted to make sure everyone else was doing ok. She mentioned you specifically, you know."

Puck shook his head. "I didn't, but I never even got a chance to talk to her apart from a few words the day of the funeral. I left Lima in a hurry."

"Why was that?"

"Kurt decided to give Finn's letterman jacket to Santana. The jacket disappeared and Santana accused me of taking it in front of everyone, apart from Rachel. What's worse is that not one person believed me when I said I didn't take it. I relied on Coach Bieste so much when everyone was at McKinley. Santana has enough nice things to say about Finn now he's gone and she gets everyone's sympathy. What about Rach? She lost her first love, and maybe even the guy she was meant to be with. Carole lost her son, and she's already lost a husband. Finn was such a great guy, and I don't grudge anyone for grieving for him, but would it really have hurt everyone, heck, even anyone to show a little faith in me? He was my best friend, I sure as hell wouldn't disrespect his memory by stealing his letterman jacket."

Puck's hands shook as his voice got louder and louder the longer he spoke. He was about to stand up in an attempt to control himself, but instead he found his cheeks damp with tears. Shelby's hand came up to his face and tenderly wiped the fallen tears away with her thumb.

"Say what you need to say Noah," she whispered. "Get it all out there."

"I... I just miss him so damn much. We had put everything that happened between us and Quinn to rest, and we were in such a good place. He was kicking ass at college, and had his whole life ahead of him. One of the last conversations we had was about Beth, you know. I told him that we'd come to New York together one day soon, and Beth would grow up knowing all about her uncle Finn." Puck choked out those last two words, the memory of their conversation too much for him too handle.

"Beth can still know all about her uncle Finn, me and you can make sure of that. Quinn and Rachel too," Shelby said. "She'll know how much he loved her, and all about his adventures with Noah and Quinn and Rachel. We won't let him be forgotten Noah, I promise."

Puck looked up as Shelby stopped speaking, overcome by admiration and adoration for the woman beside him. He was suddenly reminded of why he had been so attracted to her in his senior year of high school. Shelby Corcoran was so strong and kind and passionate.

So, he kissed her.

As their lips met, Puck attempted to put all his feelings into the kiss, since he wasn't sure how long it would last or how well it would be received.

Puck couldn't say how long it was before they broke apart. Before Shelby could distance herself from him, he cupped her face with his calloused hands and looked deep into her eyes.

"Hear me out. Please," he begged, though a steely determination crept into his voice.

The older woman made no comment, but gave a slight nod of the head to indicate she was listening.

"I've joined the Air Force," he began. "My best friend died. My _brother_ died. Finn's been such a huge part of my life ever since I could remember, and it destroys me knowing I'll never get to jam with him again, or hear his voice, or go for our first legal beers together like we swore we would. But I can't miss out on anything now, I'm going to live a life good enough for us both. I don't care what you said two years ago, I know you felt something for me. Maybe not as something as strong as what I felt for you, but you felt something. Seeing you today, and being reminded of how selfless and kind and strong you are made me realise that you and Beth are the people I want in my life. I want a family with you Shelby, I want a life with you; a long, happy life. I know this is sudden and you probably think I'm nuts and selfish for telling you all this before I go to the Air Force, especially after I've just turned up on your doorstep ten minutes ago, but I can't go through my life thinking about what I should have told people but didn't."

He paused there, trying to collect his thoughts; he could barely remember that last sentence that had come out of his mouth, nevermind how he had started his speech.

"Noah..." Shelby began, but he jumped straight back in, wanting to say everything he needed to before she turned him down.

"The age difference doesn't bother my in the slightest, and there's other options for having kids in the future. If we both want this, there's absolutely nothing that could get in our way. I had no idea I would end up telling you all this, hell I didn't even know that I still felt like this about you until now. But, come to think of it, I'm not even that surprised. We've always kept in touch, and even on those days that we didn't speak, there wasn't a single day that went by where I didn't think about you and Beth. And it would be a complete lie if I said that I hadn't thought about us being a family a few times over the years. Please Shelby, give me a chance. Give us a chance."

Silence engulfed the room. Puck could tell he had scared Shelby with his words. Heck he had even scared himself, but he was so sure of how he felt that he couldn't help but hope that Shelby would see it too.

"Noah," the older woman began softly. "Do you hear what you're saying to me? How can you be so sure? We haven't seen each other in person for two years, and you've been through so much lately."

Puck met her eyes determinedly. "Shelby, I'm not a irrational kid anymore. I can understand why you think I'm just trying to cling on to to anyone right now, but it's the complete opposite. I know what I want from life. Beth has always been my main focus, ever since she was born I knew that everything I did would be for her. To make her proud and give her a good life, even if I wouldn't be directly involved. I've already told you; my feelings for you back in Lima weren't fake or blown out of proportion. It's just taken being back in your company and being reminded of how amazing you are to make me realise that Beth and you are what I want from life, are who I want in my life." With that, he took her hand in his own, and kissed her knuckles tenderly.

Before he could move to capture her lips again, the door of the apartment burst open and a blur of blonde and blue came running through the door. "Mama!" the little blur screamed, throwing her arms open to be picked up by her mother.

"Hey Bee, have you had a good day?" Shelby asked cheerfully, clearly delighted to see her daughter.

"Yes mama, we went to the park and feeded the ducks," Beth grinned, tripping over her words in her excitement.

"Wow, sounds like fun. I'll take you back some day soon, how about that?" proposed Shelby, running a hand through her daughter's blonde hair.

Beth could only nod fervently, causing Puck to laugh from his place on the couch.

Beth turned to face the man who had helped create her, none the wiser to his identity.

"Who the man, mama?" the three year old asked.

"Beth, this is Noah. You've met him before when you were little," Shelby explained tactfully.

"Hey there monkey face," greeted Puck, his old nickname for his daughter slipping out of his mouth with ease.

"I'm not a monkey face," the blonde haired girl said indignantly.

"Oh yeah," teased Puck. "Says who?"

"Says me," argued Beth right back before laughing so cutely it made Puck's heart ache.

"Thanks Erin, I know it was short notice to take her. Here's a little something extra for the trouble," said Shelby as she pulled some notes from her purse.

"There's no need, Shelby, it's always a pleasure to take Beth. She's a little star," the red-headed babysitter replied, flashing Beth a stunning smile before she turned to take her leave. "Bye Beth, I'll see you sometime again soon."

"Bye Erin," replied Beth as she waved her little hand in Erin's direction.

"I bet you're hungry after your big day, huh Bee?" Shelby asked her daugher as she placed her back on the ground.

"I sure am mama," the little girl replied cheerfully.

"How about I go make some dinner for us. You can play with Noah while you wait, as long as he doesn't mind?" Shelby aimed this last part at the young man still glued to her couch. Shelby couldn't help but smile as Puck grinned widely as he registered her words.

"I'd love to," he said sincerely, appreciating that Shelby hadn't taken the first chance to throw him out of her apartment, especially after how their previous conversation had ended.

For the next half an hour, Noah Puckerman played dolls, hide and seek and airplanes with his daughter, all the while taking in every little detail about her.

As Puck and Beth played in the living room, Shelby busied herself with making food for her daughter. As she prepped and cooked the food, she couldn't help but steal glances at Noah as he immersed himself in whatever activity his daughter chose for them to do. Noah was a good father to Beth, in whatever capacity, but she just didn't know if she could take his declerations of love seriously. She knew that she had it in her to fall for him all over again, but he was just starting his life and she didn't want to start to build a life with him only for him to realise that he didn't want to be tied down by a woman eighteen years older than himself. His words had seemed sincere enough, but was Noah Puckerman worth taking the risk?

"Hey Bee, food's up," shouted Shelby, placing the plates on the table.

She walked through to the living room to find Noah packing away all the toys he and Beth had been playing with, a disappointed look on his face. "I'll make myself scarce if you guys are settling down for the night. I'm sorry if I scared you with what I was saying earlier, but don't think for one second that I didn't mean a word of it. But if it makes it easier for you to forget everything, then do it. I'd rather continue to see you and Beth whenever it suits than not at all."

"Hey," Shelby found herself saying, all the questions and doubts she had swarming around her head previously disappearing. Almost of its own accord her hand reached out to intertwine her own fingers with those of the handsome young man beside her. "I've set three places at the table, and there's enough food to feed six of us. I'd love it if you'd stay for dinner."

Shelby felt Noah's fingers squeeze her own tightly, a tentative grin coming to his face.

"Besides," Shelby continued, a small smile coming to her face. "We've got a lot to talk about before you head to basic training."

Noah Puckerman exhaled noisily as relief washed over him. Unable to control himself, he leaned forward to capture Shelby's lips with his own in a chaste, honest, simple kiss.

For the first time in weeks, Noah Puckerman could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

He just wished his best friend was here to see how his life was turning out. But he knew that Finn was happy for him, wherever he was now.

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**__ Hey guys! This has been something that I've been toying with ever since I saw 'The Quarterback.' I've already written a Puck/Rachel one shot about how I think Rachel would react to the accusations made against Puck in the episode, and for anyone who might have read it, certain aspects of it have made an appearance in this piece of writing too. However, the two stories are in no way linked._

_I hope you all enjoyed this read, I had a fair time writing it. I wanted to write something because I do still ship Puck/Shelby together, but I'm such a huge fan of the Puck/Finn friendship that I had to use it as a central part of the plot. I hope you are all happy with what was produced from those points, I certainly am._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, something like this would have been hinted at on the show._

_This is not beta'd. Apologies for any mistakes._

_It's basically just a scene I feel could be canon, since it's not been mentioned as being canon or non-canon. It's a scene that could fit into the show, if you are so inclined to like the content. I personally feel that Puck would have made this stop before heading to the Air Force._

_Reviews would be loved, since I really love all the relationships I've written about or mentioned, be it Puck/Shelby, Puck/Beth, Puck/Finn, Puck/Rachel, Finn/Rachel or Shelby/Rachel. _

_Please review, peace out, and thanks for reading!_


End file.
